The Story of Absalom and David (II Samuel 13-19)
This particular study has nothing to do with the passages we plan to study in the group, but since I had it, I thought I’d share it with you all. It’s something I did during my recent trip to Unity Village. It’s a story that reads like a soap opera. It has everything: lust, rape, vengeance, family feuds, murder, revolution, war, and great tragedy.
The Story
This story takes place during the latter part of the reign of King David of Israel. Israel was still a young nation. David was only its second king, after Saul; he was the first to make Jerusalem the capital. It was a time when polygamy was widespread. David had one son by each of his first five wives. Amnon was his eldest son; Absalom came third, David’s son by a woman named Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur, a kingdom about 100 miles northeast of Jerusalem, due east of the area of Galilee; the distance from Jerusalem becomes relevant in a later part of this story. The second son, Chileab, is mentioned at birth and then never again; presumably he died in childhood. So Amnon was heir to the throne, and Absalom was next in line.Amnon and Tamar
Tamar, Absalom’s sister, was physically very beautiful, as was Absalom. Amnon became infatuated with her and wanted her sexually, but she was a virgin and seemed inaccessible to him. His cousin suggested that he trick David, and Tamar, by pretending to be sick and asking to have Tamar come to his place and cook a meal for him, which she did. Amnon then commanded all his servants to leave the house, and invited Tamar into his bedroom. He propositioned her. She declined, suggesting that if Amnon asked king David for her in marriage, he’d likely agree. (Things were a bit looser in those days about marrying your half-sister, I suppose.) But Amnon couldn’t wait; he raped her. Then, his “love” turned to loathing, and he kicks her out on the street, bolting the door behind her. She tears her clothes and goes away wailing, running to her brother, Absalom.
Oddly, Absalom advises her to hold her peace. Tamar, desolate, remains in Absalom’s house. David, nevertheless, learns of it and becomes angry, but refuses to punish his firstborn, Amnon—his first big mistake! Absalom quietly nurtures a deep hatred for his half-brother for over two years.
The Murder of Amnon
Absalom then puts on a feast. He invites the king and all his brothers, but the king declines, although he allows all his sons to attend—including Amnon. (Second mistake!) Absalom orders his servants to kill Amnon, assuring them it’s okay because he is the king’s heir. The rest of the king’s sons flee in terror. A report reaches David that all his sons are dead, and he is devastated, but Jonadab (the same cousin of Absalom who set up the rape) assures David that, “It’s only Amnon; Absalom has been planning this since the day of the rape.”Realizing he’s gone too far, Absalom flees the country, back to his grandfather in Geshur, about 100 miles away from David, and says there for three years in exile. David, somehow, “was consoled over the death of Amnon” and longs to have Absalom back, but does nothing about it! (Third mistake, or fourth, if you count not going after Absalom in Geshur!)
Absalom’s Return
So, Joab (David’s cousin and head of the army) arranges to trick David into bringing Absalom back. He has a woman appear before David and tell a sob story about her two sons, one of whom killed the other, but now she wants the living son back, but her relatives want to kill him. David swears he’ll protect the living son, and then the woman points out that he is condemning himself in keeping Absalom banished. Absalom is invited back to Jerusalem, but David won’t let him into his house (Fifth mistake, although I’m not sure whether it was inviting him back or continuing to snub him that was the problem. David’s indecisiveness, I think, is the real issue here.) Two years pass, and Absalom has had enough. He tries to contact Joab to get back into the king’s good graces, but Joab ignores him. So Absalom sets fire to Joab’s fields, which gets his attention!
Joab brings Absalom to David, and they kiss. But the reconciliation is only on the surface. Underneath, Absalom plans a rebellion; he plans to kill his father and become king!
Absalom’s Rebellion
Over the next four years, Absalom sucks up to everyone. His physical beauty is a big asset. The Bible makes a big deal about his long hair. The description reminds me of Fabio! It says that he cuts his hair once a year, and the cuttings weigh almost five pounds! He pretends to be everyone’s friend and, the Bible says, he “stole the hearts of Israel.” He gets important people to back him, including the king’s chief counsellor, Ahithophel. Absalom goes off to Hebron (the original capital city where David was crowned king) and declares himself to be king.
David, amazingly, just runs away! He won’t take action against Absalom, and yet he has refused to really accept him. He sends a spy, Hushai, another advisor, to be with Absalom; he sends the priests back to Jerusalem to act as liaisons for reports from the spy. So Absalom takes Jerusalem without a fight. Hushai manages to undermine Ahithophel’s advice to immediately attack and kill David, saving David’s skin; he warns David of the new plans, so David has time to prepare a massive defense.
Death of Absalom
There is a huge battle. Twenty thousand men are killed, the entire country was at war. Absalom’s forces are losing and he encounters David’s army, so he jumps on the back of a mule and tries to escape into the forest. But his long hair catches on the branch of an oak tree, leaving him “hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule...went on” (II Sam 18:9). Despite the fact that David had ordered his men to “deal gently with the young man Absalom” (still indecisive), Joab and his men kill Absalom. Joab, it seems, was capable of making up his mind!
When David learns of Absalom’s death, he drops into excessive grief, wailing, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (II Sam. 18:33). It goes on and on.
When Joab hears of it, he confronts David. He tells him that he is shaming the troops who fought and won for him, saving his life and his family's life. David is making it clear that his supporters mean nothing to him, that apparently, David would be happier if they were all dead and Absalom was alive. David finally comes to his senses, goes out, and receives his troops.
Metaphysical Meanings
David, the king: executive power of the mindJoab: the inner center that preserves the unity and integrity of soul and body, the individual will
Absalom: physical beauty
What do you think about the way David handled this situation? Why did he fail to act and let things go so far?
Fillmore, in the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary entry for Absalom, says it much better than I could:
Absalom represents physical beauty, without corresponding beauty of the soul. David's love for physical beauty, without spiritual understanding as a foundation, is illustrated in Absalom. He was so absorbed in that state of consciousness that he gave himself up to it without realizing its character. When Absalom marched against Jerusalem with an army, David fled, and the usurper took possession of the capital. Likewise we let our affection for the physical forms of life engross our attention, to the exclusion of the spiritual. Parents frequently give up everything to a selfish child. A parallel to this is found in the individual when some cherished idea takes complete possession of him to the exclusion of good judgment.
When we give excessive love to a thing on the sense plane, there is a reaction, and an adjustment takes place under the working of what may be termed the law of nature. In a measure the subjective consciousness is self-regulating. We may transgress the law of nature up to a certain degree; then all at once we seem to lose command; the mind and the body are in a state of chemicalization --a war is on between the thoughts of Truth and the thoughts of error. Some cherished ideal that has been ruling on the physical plane must be deposed, and the rightful king must be restored to dominion. This movement may appear to the individual as an illness of which he does not understand the cause; its explanation is below the line of conscious mind.
Joab led the army that defeated Absalom, and Joab and his armor-bearers slew Absalom. Joab represents the inner center that preserves the unity and integrity of soul and body, the individual will. This is the focal point around which all the forces of the organism, objective and subjective, adjust themselves.
Yet the conscious love does not want to give up its cherished ideal, no matter how great its error. When the messengers brought the tidings of Absalom's death, David cried: "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son !" This illustrates the absorbing love that the affections feel for the realm of sense when they are not balanced by understanding.
Absalom was a son by a heathen wife (there was no redeeming spirituality in the thought, and the soul forces were cemented to it as a material reality). This is why it is so hard for us to give up our material possessions, whether they be in the form of our children or in the form of money. If we love our children with an earthly love, without the understanding that they are the children of God, the very substance of our soul goes out to them. So, when the soul loves money, it becomes saturated with materiality. Jesus saw this when He said, "How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!"
I’m particularly struck by the thought of how “some cherished idea” can “take complete possession of [us] to the exclusion of good judgment.” This is the state of, “My mind is made up! Don’t confuse me with facts.” In this story, David represents the attribute of love devoid of the attribute of wisdom. We need to question our emotional attachment to things, people, and ideas. When something shows its harmful character, as Absalom did when he raped his half-sister and later killed his half-brother, we need to act swiftly to divorce ourselves from that thing, that person, or that idea. Failure to act early on can lead to major disasters later.
It's interesting to think about the part Joab plays here. As the "inner center," he brings correction to the "executive power of the mind." He is the voice of wisdom, first in urging reconciliation with Absalom (which David fails to follow through), then in exercising the power of elimination to end Absalom's rebellion, and finally, in wisely putting an end to David's unseemly grief.
